Rebels accuse IGAD mediators of bias as talks adjourned

August 27, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudan’s armed faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM in Opposition) led by the former vice-president Riek Machar has sharply criticised the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for what they said was its bias towards president Salva Kiir in the peace process which the regional bloc has been mediating for the past eight months.

Rebel leader Riek Machar (C) flanked by Gabriel Changson Chang, his aide for finance and resource mobilisation (L), and chief negotiator General Taban Deng Gai (front) at 27th extraordinary summit of IGAD heads of state and government in Addis Ababa on 24 August 2014 (Photo: AFP/Zacharias Abubeker)

IGAD heads of state and government on Monday in Addis Ababa signed a protocol on transitional government of national unity in which the regional leaders imposed that president Kiir remained the South Sudanese president and commander-in-chief of the army for the next two-and-a-half years until elections are conducted.

They also proposed that the Machar-led rebel group would nominate somebody to fill a new would-be prime minister’s position, but the official occupying this position will not be eligible for elections.

The regional bloc further gives a 45-day ultimatum within which the two parties should work out details of the peace agreement.

Six heads of state and representatives of government including president Salva Kiir inked the document in the 27th extraordinary summit on 24 August. The opposition leader Machar declined to sign it, saying the document needed further study and should have been negotiated directly by the two warring parties.

In a press statement seen by Sudan Tribune issued on Wednesday and signed by the rebels chief negotiator, Gen Taban Deng Gai, they said IGAD’s approach was biasedly in favour of president Kiir, saying the imposed document threatened to water down achievements made so far by the thematic committees from both sides of the conflict.

SALVA KIIR NOT LEGITIMATE

The rebels criticized the IGAD leaders for not doing enough to address the root causes of the conflict and instead approved president Kiir who allegedly massacred thousands of the people who elected him.

The statement challenged IGAD mediators, saying Kiir is a “symbol of genocide” in South Sudan accusing him of “killing over 20,000 ethnic Nuer unarmed civilians.”

The statement further accused the regional leaders of “double standard” insinuating that they failed to see the point maybe in fear of setting precedence given some similarities in their own countries and preferred to protect “a dictator”.

“We want to refresh the mediators’ memory of the situation in Ukraine, when the elected president Victor Yanukovych was forced out of office because his government slaughtered over two hundred unarmed protesters,” the statement said.

“Does this not amount to double standards or are our regional leaders protecting their backs,” reads the statement.”

RUSHED DOCUMENT

The statement from the SPLM in Opposition further explained that the two warring parties were working on issues of governance, security arrangements and wealth sharing when the IGAD came in with the “smuggled in document”.

They also criticised the African regional leaders for making uninformed decisions from influence outside the IGAD forum, saying the protocol which they imposed on the parties was “doctored” somewhere.

“The IGAD mediators shelved this progress achieved and smuggled in a document doctored somewhere outside the forum. This smuggled in foreign document is creating confusion and mistrust between the envoys and the parties,” reads the statement.

The press statement also observed a situation in which there was confusion on how the document was handled for signatures by the heads of state and government.

The rebels said IGAD initially agreed to give more time to the two warring parties to study the protocol, but later the regional leaders rushed to sign the text under unclear circumstances.

While the heads of state and government decided to append their signatures to the document as a guideline, the two principals in the conflict declined, asking for more time to negotiate the document, it said.

The rebels chief negotiator in the statement said IGAD confused the two roles of president Kiir as head of state and principal in the conflict.

He said it was not clear whether Kiir signed as head of state or principal in the conflict. While the other regional leaders signed on all the pages, president Kiir was only given the last page to sign on, the statement pointed out.

MACHAR DIDN’T SIGN

When one of the IGAD envoys approached the rebel leader with only the last page of the protocol document to sign it, Machar insisted that he wanted to see the whole text before he could decide, asking “Why do I have to sign a blank cheque?”

“Please bring the text,” to which the envoy replied, “sorry, you were not supposed to sign.

“This explains why Salva Kiir’s initials do not appear on the other pages of the protocol document,” the statement said.

However, rebels said that despite what they observed to be failure on IGAD to address the root causes of the conflict, they reiterated their commitment to the peace process and called on the regional and international communities to appreciate their position in respect of the protocol document.

The statement also calls for continued of the peace talks in order to negotiate a peace agreement.

TALKS ADJOURNED

Meanwhile, IGAD mediators have adjourned the peace talks for three weeks to make consultations with stakeholders.

The talks are expected to resume on 14 September amid a new 45-day deadline imposed on the two parties to reach an agreement.

(ST)

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Some IGAD leaders are dictators who cannot condemn another dictator. Others are jealous about South Sudan and would want to see a useless, visionless leader like Salva Kiir to lead it so that it doesn’t have peace or develop. All are western puppets who can never find a solution for this crisis. Look they rushed to adjourn the talks for 20 days while giving 45 days deadline.

The document has already signed IGAD are not stupid to reverse the signatures. Riek Machar, wants to fool everybody.
The last page which president Kiir signed, is comprise of the whole problems when he signed it, then the is peace perfectly.
No doubt please rebel.

It is too bad that IGAD has failed to mediate and only resorted to cheating by giving blank papers to sign without the documents being seen; nobody knowing what is inside the document to be agreed upon. Sorry, only blind leaders like Kiir will sign such fraudulent documents without knowing what is inside it.

Mii Diit!!! Machar looked for it. he moved in all the IGAD Members’ countries and he delivered nothing sensible. All along he was lying in the name of S.Sudanese for his own benefit. He was kicked right on the teeth and it is right time for him to use diplomacy other than continuing with war though late for him to accept the truth.

We all know that IGAD are divided on this matter and the content of the documents is unacceptable. How can you leave the same person who supervise the massacre of thousands of civilians to remain as president and also giving him powers to accept of reject the prime minister nominee, is there any difference than the current tribal government he is running. No, we are not going to accept. will fight

1-Dr Riek Machar must stop this song of SALVA KIIR NOT LEGITIMATE and DICKTATOR!!!!! fIRST YOU SAID kIIR WAS A dicktator,and now you are calling him SALVA KIIR NOT LEGITIMATE president,first who are you to say he must step downd ? All s.sudanese must decide not you,you must shut your big mouth.Salva kiir is a killer,then who is not a killer? You too Riek machar is killer,in 1991 you killed

2-Dr Riek Machar killed civilians in bor even now in 2013 and 2014 ,your soldiers killed civilans in Bor,Bentiu and Malakal,wether you kill one or you killed thousands civilians ,still is called murderer. So this issue of killing,SALVA KIIR NOT LEGITIMATE you must stop it ,or it will cost your dear life,remember when you said you want to contest for president,it costed your Job of vice president.

3-There is no body on earth or under ground or in haven or even god has no power to say SALVA KIIR NOT LEGITIMATE presiden and must step down,there is no body saying it in the south sudan or even in the rebel ranks,is only hungry man for president siging it Dr Riek Machar. He Dr Riek miscalculate it,he think with the fews gund Peter Gadet had stollen from the Government and with the few rockets

4-Dr riek think he will win the war and becomes next S.Sudan president,he is lying to himself.Let the Igad give 3 break of this peace talks and let the rebels and government fight,and let us see who has the upper hand militarily.Most of those guns and trucks lotted from the government army has been distroyed and the government next plan is to block those supply of weapons from Sudan.

5-DR Riek Machar,has delayed our independence for another 10 years by steping the SPLA at the back. He joined the enemy in khartoum,he think the people of south sudan have forgotten what he did???
He Mascared (Killed) more than 4000 thousands dinkas in bor in 1991. When the hunters killed the elephant ,now he appear from no where and he demanded a big share,people of S.Sudan will not forgive him!

6- Dr Riek Machar called John Grang a dicktator. Now again
Now he called Salva Kiir a Dicktator too and not LEGITIMATE president !! Which name shall Salva Kiir call Him!!!
We shall find a Name for him..We shall call him ,African Hitler from South Sudan,but not all s.sudan from Nuer.

6- Dr Riek Machar called John Grang a dicktator. Now again
Now he called Salva Kiir a Dicktator too and not LEGITIMATE president !! Which name shall Salva Kiir call Him!!!
We shall find a Name for him..We shall call him ,African Hitler from South Sudan,but not all s.sudan from Nuer.

7-Dr Riek Machar is dreaming of becoming a prime minister,what do you get after all these killings and distrucktions of your own people because the post of prime minister. Even without fight you can not get it? What respect will you get from your tribe Nuer?? you killed your own people because of food and money? what will generations write about you?? And in short time you are gone!!!!

8-Dont argue with a fool people will not know the difference,
Dr Riek Machar is a fool,so Salva Kiir must not waste time arguing with this stupid man,time will tell who is right.
This luanguage of saying Kiir must step downd,is sending a wrong signal to our country for the future generations to come,any one can say to any electeg president that he or she must step downd.

9-Kiir must step downd as if Salva kiir is runing this country alone !! Dr Riek Machar has personel thing with Salva Kiir. Dr Riek Machar must understand that south sudan is for all of us not for Nuer or Dika alone,all people have the voice,if Salva kiir is gone today or tomorrow after the next 20 years still some one have to be elected ,to show our coming generations that this is the only way!!

Midiit,December is approaching while Kiir still your President and commander in chief of south Sudanese army. It’s incumbent upon Machar to sign the protocol paper,accept to be PM,refuse it and die in exile.Any rational human being can come up with such document,but Riek and his thugs can’t because they are simply retarded and only food lovers.

Don’t get excited yet buddy. December is still very far. Your Nyankiir Museveni will soon join the world of “formers” before 15th December. I swear, Kiir will NEVER sit as president on December 15, the day he murdered 20,000 Nuer and brought this country back to war and suffering. Damn him!

Swear in the name of who? Ngudeng?! This will not help you, it’s simply a consolation of failure. Let reason prevail over emotions. Truth should be said, Salva is Legitimate and Riak has failed politically, militarily and diplomatically. It’s just a waste of time. He wasted time visiting IGAD countries and this is what he got in return. He’s a loser ever since, just recycling failure after failure

I’m aware that most of African Leaders have committed genocide in their Countries like Kiir. Hence, it is a good sign for them to cover Kiir.let us leave IGAD and continue fighting. The IGAD will not bring peace while eating Dollars of Kiir. Mr. Machar and Taban, Please, kindly prepare yourselves this time to face ICC for the Sake of Thousands of Nuer killed by Kiir. Nuer will kill more this time.

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